LOS ANGELES (AP) – In a move virtually unprecedented, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was revoked Saturday by its board.
The decision was reached in an emergency session by the academy, the world’s top movie organization and home to the Oscars. The expulsion was effective immediately.
It comes after recent reports by The New York Times and The New Yorker about sexual harassment and rape allegations against Weinstein going back decades. He has denied the accusations against him.
In issuing its decision, the academy stated “We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over.”
“What’s at issue here,” the statement added, “is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society.”